Clean Energy: Perspectives on Sustainability

May 25, 2011, 12:00 -1:30 PM 325 Russell Senate Office Building

Summary

This year, the term “clean energy” has been used with increasing frequency and prominence in policy-making circles, at the federal, state, local and international levels. In his 2011 State of the Union address, President Obama proposed a goal of producing 80 percent of U.S. electricity from “clean energy” sources by 2035. However, different stakeholders have differing definitions of clean, differing metrics, and differing goals. And, they’ve proposed different and divergent paths of progress toward clean energy.

This briefing will explore some of the dimensions of “clean” electricity generation, examining the trade-offs involved and how different clean energy solutions impact land and water use and other aspects of our environment. This event is the first of a two-part series. The second briefing will highlight perspectives on innovation in clean energy.